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Higher Education IT Security Report Card Gives Admins 'A-'

Students and Funding Not Making the Grade; CDW-G Straw Poll of Higher Education IT Directors Identifies Barriers to Improving IT Security ...

on 2005-10-24 06:25:34

...for Security Prioritization

Students and Funding Not Making the Grade; CDW-G Straw Poll of Higher Education IT Directors Identifies Barriers to Improving IT Security on Campus

VERNON HILLS, Ill.--Oct. 24, 2005--CDW Government, Inc. (CDW-G), a wholly owned subsidiary of CDW Corporation (NASDAQ?) and leading source of Information Technology (IT) solutions to governments and educators, today announced the results of an informal survey of higher education IT directors on the topic of IT security. The results reveal that faculty support and the free academic environment are less significant obstacles to improved information security than are basic requirements such as funding and staff time.

Sixty-four percent of respondents say that IT security is among their top five priorities, and 69 percent report that it is the highest or a top priority for their institutions' administrations. However, 66 percent of respondents note they are able to dedicate less than one-quarter of their time to security, citing lack of funding (50 percent) and lack of resources (12 percent) as the top two barriers to improving IT security on campus. The vast majority of respondents state that their network infrastructures are safe (41 percent) or moderately safe (44 percent), but only 5 percent assert that their network infrastructures are very safe from attack.

"The good news here is that higher education institutions do not have any inherent structural opposition to IT security initiatives, with 73 percent of faculty and 87 percent of administration executives very supportive or supportive of cyber security initiatives on campus," said Dan Monahan, CDW-G higher education director. "The bad news is that as the academic community increasingly relies on information resources to fulfill their mission, IT staffs are absolutely stretched to the limit to meet the growing needs. The net result is that IT security remains a problem for colleges and universities - even though real solutions are available."

The IT directors surveyed rated the support for IT security they receive from executive administration, faculty and students:

Administration earns an "A-" for priority and a "B+" for support: Eighty-seven percent of respondents state that the executive administrations at their schools are either very supportive or supportive of IT security initiatives. However, 42 percent note that the biggest problem them face with their administrations is a lack of funding for IT security programs, while 33 percent say their administrations are not committed to enforcing policies and funding training programs.

Faculty earns a "B": Seventy-three percent of respondents note that higher education faculty is very supportive or supportive of IT security initiatives. The biggest challenges IT directors face with this audience are lack of awareness (45 percent) and lack of consistent policies across departments (32 percent).

Students earn a "C-": While 45 percent of respondents report that students are either very supportive or supportive of IT security initiatives, 38 percent state that students are not very supportive and 17 percent say that students are not at all supportive and resistant to change. Respondents cite disregard of rules/policies (36 percent) and lack of awareness (25 percent) as the major roadblocks with students.

This informal survey, based on a poll of 102 higher education IT directors nationwide, will form the basis for future CDW-G research on IT security challenges at higher education institutions. Please see www.cdwg.com/educause for more information about the survey results and a complete analysis.

About CDW-G
CDW Government, Inc. (CDW-G), a wholly owned subsidiary of CDW Corporation (NASDAQ?), a FORTUNE 500 company, is a trusted technology advisor and solutions provider to federal, state and local government agencies, as well as to educational institutions at all levels. CDW-G responds with a sense of urgency to customer technology needs, delivering best-in-class solutions from top-name brands such as APC, Cisco, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Sony, Symantec, Toshiba and ViewSonic. CDW-G focuses on building strong customer relationships with its knowledgeable account managers and technical specialists who provide extensive pre- and post-sales support.

For more information about CDW-G product offerings, procurement options, services and solutions, call 1.800.863.4239, or visit the CDW-G Web site at www.CDWG.com .

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